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“I don’t give a—”
“A fly-casting rod.”
She bit back her next words and stared at him in surprise. “A fly-casting rod?”
He bobbed his head in affirmation. “You know what that means, don’t you?” She looked at him warily, her expression rife with mistrust. “It means I’m calling off my bet with George.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s no way I can win it, is there?”
She raised her chin a notch. “There never was.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head with chagrin. She was fond of the way his hair grew in a swirl around the cowlick on the crown of his head, but hated herself for noticing it, and hated even more her desire to touch it.
“I should have listened the first time you said no. It would have saved me a lot of, uh ... dreams.” He paused for a single heartbeat as his eyes focused on her mouth. “And it would have spared you a lot of aggravation.” He smiled an all-American, good-guy smile that would have warranted him a white hat in any western movie. “We’re maid of honor and best man. We can’t let this hostility between us spoil Steve and Fran’s wedding. So, what do you say? Are we friends?”
He stuck out his hand. Reflexively Sunny jumped. She stared down at his hand with open suspicion, then cautiously laid hers in it. They shook hands solemnly.
“Whew! That’s a load off my mind,” Ty said with a happy grin. “Now I can relax.”
&nbs
p; “Did somebody say something about relaxing?” Steve asked. He, Fran, and the rest of the wedding party had joined them in the vestibule. Steve was tugging at his necktie. “I could use a drink.”
“You sound like a desperate man,” Fran teased him.
“I am.” He drew her close and nuzzled her ear. “I have to wait one more night to get in your bed. Legally and officially, that is.” He said it only loud enough for her and Ty and Sunny to hear. Ty laughed.
Playfully, Fran fended off Steve’s amorous attack. “Why don’t you come over for sandwiches, Ty?” she asked. “Sunny will be there. She’s staying with me tonight.”
“Thanks. That sounds great,” he agreed with a smile. Draping his arm around Sunny’s shoulders he added, “Especially since my good pal Sunny will be there.”
It took a full five minutes to decide who would ride in which cars on the way to Fran’s house, since Ty had walked to the church from the sheriff ’s office and Fran’s daughters wanted to ride with their grandparents. It was finally decided that Fran’s father would drive Sunny’s car and that the bride and groom and their attendants would all go in Steve’s car.
“Oops, I forgot about those things in the backseat,” Steve said when they reached his car. There was a tuxedo hanging on the hook and a shoe box on the seat, along with several unopened wedding gifts.
“No problem. We’ll have room if Sunny doesn’t mind sitting on my lap.” Accommodatingly, Ty climbed into the backseat.
Sunny couldn’t protest. The car had bucket seats, so she couldn’t crowd into the front with Fran and Steve. Besides, Ty didn’t give her a chance to offer an opinion one way or another. He reached through the door, grabbed her wrist, and, giving it a sharp tug, pulled her in with him.
She landed solidly in his lap. He spread his knees wide and, placing his hands on both sides of her hips, situated her against him. There followed what seemed to be an inordinate amount of movement necessary to get her bottom settled in his lap, but finally he was satisfied.
“Comfy?” His lips moved directly over her ear.
“I’m fine.”
“It’s a good thing we’re only friends. Otherwise I might get ... embarrassed.”
Sunny stared at the back of Fran’s head, sitting perfectly still and doing everything possible not to cause friction between her body and Ty’s. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his arms in the confines of the space they had. After trying several positions, he wrapped them around Sunny’s waist. He clasped his hands together loosely, interlacing his fingers. Since the knot of her shirttail was in his way, he let his wrists relax, which lowered his hands into the V of her thighs.
Steve and Fran were engaged in conversation so they didn’t hear when Sunny turned her head slightly and muttered, “I know what you’re trying to do.”
“What’s that?”
She gave Ty a dirty look over her shoulder.
He laughed. “Believe me, Sunny, if I were trying to do something improper, you’d be the very first to know.” She couldn’t argue with that. The pressure building up beneath her hips made his statement indubitable. “So why don’t you just sit back, relax, and enjoy the, ah, ride.”
